The Tycoon's Unexpected Baby (The Abbot Sisters Book 3) Read online

  The woman frowned thoughtfully and he wanted to pull her into his arms and kiss her full, red lips. He wanted to hold her soft curves in his arms and…? Ti Diablo! Ochi! He was here simply to speak to her, to get her out of his mind so that she would stop distracting him!

  Pepper’s neck hurt from looking up at this stranger. He was huge. Tall, handsome, and she absolutely loved the lilting accent that revealed his Greek heritage. Josh had called her several days ago, letting her know that a guy named Dimitri Bosalis wanted to talk to her about a business issue. She remembered her brother-in-law’s comments that this Bosalis guy was a good man. Since Josh respected him, and had done business with him, she knew that she was safe. Josh Starke was wonderful and Pepper loved him simply because he loved Pepper’s sister so completely. So if Josh said that this Bosalis guy was worth her time, she’d talk to him.

  “Come in,” she finally said, stepping back to allow the man into her loft.

  But as soon as she turned and closed the door, Pepper knew that she’d made a mistake. There was something about him, something that she didn’t understand. He was…“big”…the word kept popping into her mind instead of other, more apt adjectives. And handsome. She liked that scar just under his hard jawline and the sharp look in his dark, penetrating eyes. She liked his broad shoulders and the way his immaculate suit moved over his flat stomach. But it wasn’t his physical appearance that disturbed her so much, although he was big enough that his size warranted caution. No, it was something…strangely elusive. Something that compelled her to move closer. Which is why she stepped backwards, crossing her arms over her stomach, and looked expectantly up at him.

  “What’s your proposition?” she asked, forcing herself to focus on business. She needed to stop molesting him with her eyes. That wasn’t a good start to any business meeting, she admonished herself silently.

  His dark eyebrow lifted and she shifted on her feet. Then she heard her words and closed her eyes briefly. Taking a deep breath, she started again. “Sorry, that came out wrong. I meant what’s your business proposal?” she replied, floundering when her cheeks turned pink.

  “I understood what you meant.” He looked around at her loft and Pepper remembered that she hadn’t bothered to make her bed this morning, her design table was piled with sketches, and the floor around it piled high with clothes.

  “What is all of this?” he asked, gesturing disdainfully at the piles of clothes on the floor.

  Pepper’s wariness returned, her lips unconsciously compressing as she tried to figure out if she’d made a huge mistake by letting him into her private space. “I thought you had a business proposal?” she prompted.

  His eyes sharpened on her features and she took a step backwards.

  “You are a designer. I know that much.” He looked down at one of the piles, grimacing slightly as if irritated by the fact that his five thousand dollar shoes were touching a pile of clothing that had definitely seen better days.

  Pepper bristled defensively at the look in his eyes. “Yes, that’s correct.” Her chin lifted defiantly and she crossed her arms protectively over her chest. She hated when people mocked her passion for “renovating” clothes! It wasn’t just her passion, it was her obsession.

  “So, what is all this?” he asked…demanded. “I’ve discovered that you are a…different sort of designer.”

  Relief surged through her when he spoke this time. His voice wasn’t disdainful. It was…curious. Pepper could handle curiosity. In fact, it was the main component of her marketing strategy.

  Feeling better, Pepper laughed gently at his tone, shaking her head. “I take used clothing and design the pieces into something different. More stylish.”

  His eyes lifted from the pile, boring into her gaze. “Explain,” he ordered.

  Pepper’s eyebrows lifted in surprise.

  Despite his abrupt tone, there was something about him that called to her. Perhaps it was the brief, startled look in his eyes when she’d first opened the door. Or maybe it was Josh’s assurance that he was a good man. Or maybe, it was that incredible zing she’d felt when she’d first opened her door. The sensation had only increased as they’d stood here in her loft. After all the men she’d dated over the years, this one had finally given her that special sensation that both Rayne and Sloane had described when talking about their husbands.

  “Ask nicely,” she dared to say, then waited tensely.

  For a long moment, Pepper thought he might lose his temper. He stared at her, those dark eyes warning her that she’d ventured into dangerous territory. And yet…she still wasn’t afraid. Even as he looked at her, her lips curled upwards, unconsciously revealing the playful nature that had gotten her into trouble more than once in the past.

  “Please,” he growled, sliding his hands into his pockets as he glared down at her. But was there amusement in that glare? Amusement and…perhaps a tinge of admiration? “I would like to understand your business enterprise more thoroughly.”

  “Better,” she replied tartly. She relaxed her arms, letting them fall to her sides and she stretched, taking one of the designs from her drawing table that she’d finished just before he’d knocked on her door. “I take used clothing and change it up. I take off any damaged parts and reshape them. Men’s dress shirts are my favorite,” she said, her finger sliding along the drawing. “This white dress shirt is going to become a tunic shirt for women, with pleats in the back and a more streamlined front.” She lifted several shirts. “On Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, I shop the local thrift stores to find supplies. This past weekend, I found several men’s shirts that will be perfect for tunic shirts.”

  He glanced at the drawing, although he wasn’t really interested in the picture there. But his eyes flashed from the drawing, to her features, then back to the drawing again. Taking the picture from her fingers, he looked at it more closely. When he lifted his eyes again, he asked, “You can do this?”

  Pepper laughed, thinking that his expression was cute, especially since he looked so raw and powerful. “Yes. This is what I do,” she told him. “And this one,” she said, handing him another picture. “I take old jeans and turn them into skirts, adding a bit of bling or a touch of fun fabric. Everything seems new again after I switch fabrics, notions, or features around.”

  He looked more closely, even bending down to pick up one of the old, torn up pairs of jeans. “You’re going to transform this,” he said, lifting the pair of jeans that had no discernable hem on either leg, “into this?” he asked, lifting the picture of a cute skirt with stripes and a ruffle along the bottom.

  Pepper smiled proudly. “Yep. That’s what I do.” A moment later, her smile faded, concern lacing her gaze as she tilted her head. “I thought you had a business proposal for me. How could you have a suggestion if you don’t know what I do?”

  The man dropped the picture onto her table, then looked around a bit more. There were piles of clothes and, now that she’d explained things to him, Dimitri recognized that the piles were sorted into clothing types. There was a pile of jeans in one corner of her loft, another pile of men’s dress shirts, colorful print shirts, and another pile that seemed to just be a mishmash of everything. Perhaps that was the pile she hadn’t sorted yet?

  Dimitri realized that she was waiting for an answer about his presence. No way was he going to admit he just wanted to meet her so that he could get her out of his head. Kolasi, this woman had broken into his concentration too many times over the past few days and had even invaded his dreams! That had only increased his ire.

  “I assumed you were a normal type of designer.” With his hands on his hips, he continued to look around. “How long have you been doing this?”

  She shrugged and he watched her eyes shutter, closing off from answering his question. There was a story there, he thought. A dark secret to her past. Something she didn’t want him to know, which only made him more curious. No, he wasn’t intrigued, he was merely…curious. Curious and eager to get back t
o his life, a life without distractions, gamoto!

  “I started when I was fourteen.”

  His eyes narrowed. Fourteen seemed a bit young to have started working on her life’s vocation. “And now you’re …?”

  “I’m twenty-seven,” she told him. “And how old are you?”

  Startled for some odd reason, Dimitri laughed. “Older than you.”

  She crossed her arms under her breasts again, glaring up at him. He wanted to chuckle at those pretty, blue eyes trying to appear angry. Her lashes were too long and those eyes too blue for her to pull it off, but he respected the effort.

  “If you’re going to be vague, then I will reply in the same way.”

  Damn, he liked a saucy woman! Which was ridiculous. He’d never allowed anyone, not even his mistresses, to tease him. It just didn’t happen!

  He moved closer. “Are you daring to be impertinent with me, little one?” he growled, although his tone was closer to playful than annoyed. He liked her, he thought. Dimitri actually…liked and…respected this tiny slip of a woman with crazy-long lashes and lush, gorgeous hair.

  Pepper’s breath caught in her throat. “Um…yes. I think that I am.” She swallowed, painfully aware of the heat emanating from this man’s huge body, warming her up. Pepper hadn’t thought of herself as cold before. But she knew with absolute certainty that she didn’t want him to move away from her, afraid that she’d feel the chill from the world if he did.

  He moved closer and Pepper wondered if she was playing with fire. Still, she stood her ground.

  “I think I might like that,” he said, but his voice was rough and husky. “Have dinner with me,” he ordered.

  Pepper was charmed despite herself. “Ask me nicely,” she murmured, watching his dark eyes flare with…not anger…something else. Something that caused heat to lick at her spine, warming her up.

  He moved closer and this was no longer warmth. This was heat. Hot, powerful, and tangy, with a bit of citrus mixed in. “Will you please have dinner with me?” he asked politely, but with that rough edge to his voice that sent a wild shiver racing through her.

  Pepper wanted to smile. She wanted to ease the tension that had been building up from the moment he’d stepped into her loft. But she couldn’t smile. She could barely breathe!

  “Yes,” she whispered in response.

  “Good.” With that, he took her hand, leading her out of her loft.

  Well, that was abrupt! Pepper gasped as he led her hurriedly towards the door, surprised by his speed. “My purse!” she gasped when they’d reached the doorway.

  “Leave it. You won’t need it.”

  She laughed, shaking her head as she slipped away from the singe of his hand against her back, grabbing her purse and keys. “I beg to differ,” she replied, feeling saucy. “I very much need everything in this purse.”

  He watched her drop her keys into the depths of a pocket. “What’s in there that you might need?”

  She shrugged as she hitched the bag over her shoulder. He pulled the heavy door opened and held it while she walked out. “My Taser comes to mind,” she said, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

  She pulled the door to her loft closed and locked it to the sound of his deep, rich laughter. When she turned around, there was still amusement crinkling the skin surrounding his eyes and she wanted to slide in next to him, feel his arm wrap around her waist.

  But she’d only met the man twenty minutes ago. She didn’t know him, even if Josh could vouch for his respectability. So instead, she went down the dimly lit stairway ahead of him, keeping a foot of space between them. She’d never thought of this hallway as dim before, but being this close to a tall, intimidatingly attractive man made the world seem different somehow.

  There was a limousine waiting right outside of her building, which surprised her. “Oh. Um…” The driver opened the door with a small bow, and she glanced over her shoulder at the tall, handsome man behind her. “This is nice,” she told him.

  Dimitri’s earlier irritation had evaporated the moment he’d stepped into her small apartment. She was delightful and he wanted to kiss her. No, he wanted to make love to her. But she was so completely different from every other woman he’d ever met, either personally or professionally, that he was almost at a loss as to how to start.

  Almost, he thought as he placed a hand to the small of her back, guiding her to the waiting limousine. He was a bit confused by the hesitation he felt in her when his driver opened the door. Most women loved the prestige of riding in a limousine, so why did she hesitate? It was just one more mystery he was determined to resolve.

  As he watched her step into the limousine, he had to admit that he was both charmed and impressed by this slip of a woman. She wasn’t anything like he’d expected. From his experience, women were cold and calculating, gauging his reactions carefully and playing games to tease and trick him into doing their bidding.

  But Ms. Pepper Abbot didn’t seem to fit into the usual personality traits that he associated with the women who drifted through his life. She was different. Hell, he even enjoyed her quips to force his manners. A novel experience, he thought.

  “Where are we dining?” she asked.

  “I’ll have my assistant make reservations at Fino’s,” he said, pulling his cell phone from his pocket.

  Before he could press the button that would make the call, he felt her soft hand on his. Immediately, he lowered his phone and looked at her, startled by the heat in her touch.

  Those big, blue eyes sparkled at him and he felt…ashamed. Ashamed? What the hell? “Don’t bother your assistant. It’s already after business hours, and he’s probably at home making dinner right about now.”

  “My assistant is still working,” he told her with absolute confidence, ignoring the spark of…whatever…at her words and the look in her eyes.

  She shifted slightly and he suspected that she was irritated with him. Actually irritated!

  “Then you’re a beast to work for, Mr. Bosalis.”

  He chuckled. “Probably. But I pay my employees extremely well for their time.” He started to lift his phone again, but once more, she stopped him with a simple touch.

  “If you don’t mind, I’m not really dressed for a place like Fino’s. Besides, their food is a bit pretentious, don’t you think?”

  He’d always thought so, but everyone else seemed impressed. That she thought so was yet another mark in her favor and his fascination increased. “What would you suggest?” he asked.

  Her eyes lit up and his body tightened with arousal. He wanted to pull her onto his lap and make love to her right here, right now. Dimitri had always scorned the idea of sex in the back of a limousine, thinking it cliché and trite. But with Pepper Abbot, he wasn’t sure he could control himself.

  “There’s a really good Italian place right around the next corner. I eat there at least once a week,” she told him, as her hand slipped down over her softly rounded stomach. “I can attest that the food is amazing!”

  Dimitri sensed that she was self-conscious of her stomach, but his eyes followed her hand, his mouth going dry at the temptation of that soft, sexy stomach. She was lush and beautiful, round in all the right places. There wouldn’t be any bones poking him when he finally got her naked and into his bed.

  Pulling his eyes away with difficulty, wondering if she’d bewitched him somehow, he sighed. “Fine,” he snapped. “Give my driver directions.”

  He pressed a button that rolled down the partition separating them from the drivers’ area. “Change of plans,” Dimitri warned his driver.

  The lovely Ms. Abbot leaned forward, giving him an excellent view of her round, enticing derriere as she gave additional directions to his driver. “Just turn left at the next corner. The restaurant is right there.”

  A moment later, the limousine slowed to a smooth stop right outside of a small Italian bistro. There were red-checked curtains on the windows, and the black paint was chipped around the edges of the
doorway. It had obviously been painted over several times, without the previous layers being stripped away, so the newest layer of paint showed all of the chips and gouges from the years of abuse. There was a tile floor entryway, but several of the tiles along the edges were cracked and chipped, leaving gaps in the floor.

  It wasn’t the sort of place Dimitri normally dined. Following her inside, he was just about to tell her that this restaurant wasn’t acceptable.

  But as soon as they stepped into the fragrant warmth of the small restaurant, Dimitri had to admit that he was tempted. There was the tangy scent of garlic, of course, and he could also smell fresh basil and…was that mint? He’d never associated mint with Italian food, but it mingled with the other scents, tempting and intriguing him.

  “Pepper!” a big, jovial man with a white apron called from the back. There was a buzz of conversation from the other patrons since most of the tables were already filled. “And you bring a man! Finally!” The man threw his hands in the air as if this event was of monumental importance.

  Pepper laughed, going up on her toes to kiss the man on both cheeks before turning to introduce Dimitri. “Dimitri, this is Tony Salivora. He’s the owner of this fine establishment and makes the absolute best pizza and pasta in the city!” She turned to Dimitri. “Tony, this is my…friend, Dimitri Bosalis. He’s never been here, so you have to be nice to him.”

  Tony laughed as only an Italian man could, hugging Pepper close as if she were his long-lost daughter.

  In response, Dimitri’s fingers curled into fists, wanting to punch the man for daring to be so familiar with Pepper, even though he knew that he didn’t have a claim to her.

  Yet!

  The word popped into his mind and he reeled in reaction. What the hell did “yet” mean? Dimitri wasn’t a possessive man! He preferred his privacy and hadn’t ever considered allowing a woman into his life beyond just an affair. But “yet” implied something more than an affair. It implied that he wanted…more! Dimitri never wanted more than a casual affair!